Browsing Category: Hope

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You Give and Take Away…

My heart is so heavy for several people once again!  Someone said to me, that you can’t take on everyone’s burdens but the more I think about it the more I believe that if it is God-given, then we can and that’s when we are supposed to pray like crazy!

A momma to be…well, only for nine months and then…a precious little life is taken away prematurely only to leave a gaping hole in the hearts of a young couple who waited and waited for joy to burst forth to welcome their little one and fulfill their dreams.  But it was denied and only God Himself knows why.

Lord, why do our babies have to go so suddenly?  Why are dreams left suspended only to  watch everyone else with their little ones and other pregnant mommies and happy, happy new parents thrilled to show their new precious bundles of joy…Yet, this momma has nothing but empty arms and tender breast that were supposed to nurse nourishment and a sweet little nursery that sits empty still waiting for its tiny occupant to come and reside and a closet of tiny pretties to dress her sweetness in and make her the prettiest ever seen.  This little one would be their pride and joy, a delight who would fill their home with laughter and tears of joy and sometimes sorrow to watch her grow and tumble and they would help her back up and brush off her skinned knees and soiled dress and help her get her feet once again on the ground.  Then teach her and encourage her with every new step she takes from crawling, sitting, walking, then riding her first bike, starting school and then…But not now, not this time.

I know You are God, I know You hung the stars in the sky, I know You created us and that You joined a sperm and an egg together perfectly and created the little one this couple had to say goodbye to and I want to know why?  Why, like a little child I ask and I know they too, over and over, why?

Then I remember the words of this prophet of old, Habakkuk who could see coming devastation and judgement from a Holy God…3:17-19

Though the fig tree may not blossom, Nor fruit be on the vines; Though the labor of the olive may fail, And the fields yield no food; Though the flock may be cut off from the fold, And there be no herd in the stalls–Yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation. The Lord God is my strength; He will make my feet like deer’s feet, And He will make me walk on my high hills.

How do we rejoice in sorrow and grief…especially when you have had to lay an actual part of your body down, buried, given back to the earth from whence we have come.  But because the prophet knew his Sovereign, he could make a choice to look to the Father, the Jehovah Shalom, and rejoice in him.  He will be their strength and they can take this still moment of sorrow and allow their God to heal their wounded, grieving hearts.  They will not forget His goodness to them and they will come to that place where one willingly admits that You give and take away, but my heart will choose to say, blessed be your name, Jesus.

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Are You At the Breaking Point…

Bearing the weight!
Feel like you are ready to snap?

Has the bottom fallen out of your world?  Life can be devastating with an unexpected change takes place in our lives!

If you are like me you like to think that you are sort of in control of your environment.  Ha, that’s really kind of a joke isn’t it!  I’m talking about how quickly things can change then our ‘plans’ have to also adapt.

I have figured out that when I get too comfortable and appear to have all my ducks in a row that I may as well gear up for the bottom to fall out of my well laid plans.  It only takes a phone call, a misinterpreted conversation, an unanticipated financial expense and wham, what now?

What is it that you are ‘planning’? A summer vacation? Visiting family or friends? Taking the kids on a surprise fun trip? It doesn’t always go this way but many times, the plans can get thwarted when the unexpected comes. Could be a sudden illness, financial mishap, death of a loved one, disaster…

Sorry friends but this is life! And it is full of surprises! The good and unfortunately the not so good!

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So here may be a good place to ask yourself some valid questions…

  • What is my goal here?
  • What is important, why am I planning this and for whose benefit?
  • What is the result I hope to see from the experience?
  • What is my plan “B”?

Some valid questions when stress reveals itself in your world!

The following verse hit me one time reminding me first and foremost of Who is in control and of placing my focus on the One who is in control when things begin to slip downward, from Isaiah 59:19b (NKJ)

Isaiah 59.19

The enemy of our souls really loves to make our lives confusing and frustrating because when we find ourselves in an uncertain mess we can tend to give up and forget our purpose.

However when I read that verse, there is hope,  and it is also imperative!  You must remember to act on what God has done when the enemy rears his ugly head.  And that involves looking at the truth and the verse in its context!  I have felt hopeless before and it isn’t fun and undoubtedly I will feel that way again.  Look at what is said in the verses before the one above beginning at :14

“14 Justice is turned back, And righteousness stands afar off; For truth is fallen in the street, And equity cannot enter. 15 So truth fails, And he who departs from evil makes himself a prey. Then the Lord saw it, and it displeased Him That there was no justice. 16 He saw that there was no man, And wondered that there was no intercessor;”

Justice and righteousness are not to be found, truth and equity are forbidden.  Without truth, he who walks away from evil is prayed upon.  But…God saw this and He was moved to wonder where is the justice in this situation and where is the intercessor…God Himself would raise the standard by His own arm and righteousness as a breastplate and helmet.  God is not threatened by the enemy who has infiltrated the land.

Therefore His own arm brought salvation for Him; And His own righteousness, it sustained Him. 17 For He put on righteousness as a breastplate, And a helmet of salvation on His head; He put on the garments of vengeance for clothing, And was clad with zeal as a cloak. 18 According to their deeds, accordingly He will repay, Fury to His adversaries, Recompense to His enemies; The coastlands He will fully repay.

The first part of verse 19 states:

“So they shall fear the name of the LORD from the west, and his glory from the rising of the sun;”

What is it that has you in a stronghold, what has stolen your peace and joy?  The truth of the matter is that God is for you and not against you.  And please catch this truth…God's intentions toward you are always only for your good, always! You are His and He is ever mindful of everything you go through, good and not so good. Click To Tweet

You may have let your circumstance overwhelm you as the enemy flooded your surrounding with things that hurt and caused pain and doubt.  Or by bringing you in a situation that you simply could no longer control. Check out the rest of this portion of Isaiah 59:

“And as for me, this is my covenant with them,” says the LORD: “My Spirit that is upon you, and my words that I have put in your mouth, shall not depart out of your mouth, or out of the mouth of your offspring, or out of the mouth of your children’s offspring,” says the LORD, “from this time forth and forevermore.”

Will you take heart by reading this truth? Will you not see that you have an advocate who wants to fill you with hope and peace?

Today in your messy state, look at the truth and simply agree with what is spoken by the One who loves you and only wants His best for you!

Lord, today I choose to focus on truth, the truth that you love me with an everlasting love. I am covered by the blood of the Lamb of God because He paid my ransom being the spotless sacrifice You required.  And I know Your Spirit is within me and I am covered by the full armor of God.  Lead me forth from this darkness that I may walk in Your light, making a difference for those around me and who may also be in the midst of a darkened place. I refuse to give up hope in Jesus’ name, Amen!

You may also like to read Blocked Goals.

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When You Don’t “Feel” Worthy

Do you have days when you just don’t feel like you are loved?

There used to be days when it was hard to imagine that I was really loved. Because of the many messes in my early years and the fallout, I struggled to believe that I was worthy of being loved.

Have you ever questioned how you could be worthy of love?

I want you to know that God has a heart for you!  When you are in Christ you are the apple of His eye!

“Praise the LORD! Sing to the LORD a new song, And His praise in the congregation of the godly ones.  

Let Israel be glad in his Maker; Let the sons of Zion rejoice in their King.  

Let them praise His name with dancing; Let them sing praises to Him with timbrel and lyre.  

For the LORD takes pleasure in His people; He will beautify the afflicted ones with salvation.”

These are the first four verses of Psalm 149 (NASB) and I want you to especially pay attention to the fourth verse.  In Christ we can count on the fact that God takes pleasure in us!

2 Cor 5-21

Do you suffer with anything?  Could be illness, loneliness, abandonment, grief, depression, confusion?  Please, take heart. The above Word says that God will beautify you, with salvation.  Look what the Lord has done!  By keeping your eye on the prize, and your gaze on Christ, God is glorifying Himself in you!  You are precious in His sight! But, you must believe it.  Say this with me, “I am the righteousness of Christ.”  Then keep saying it again and again until you truly begin to ‘walk’ in that reality!

The ESV translates verse four like this:

“For the LORD takes pleasure in his people; he adorns the humble with salvation.”

Maybe you are like me in thinking that God only wants perfect people. Oh friend that just ain’t so because there aren’t any perfect people, nope, we are all in process!

This process we are in could include our issues or afflictions that God uses to keep us humble and wholly dependent upon Him.  The hardest thing we can do is to embrace where God has us today! In so doing we will be ready for a promise to come, tomorrow.

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I want to give you some truth to counter the doubts you feel when you are in a low spot, when you are not feeling worthy…

Worthy of being loved…I have declared you forgiven of all your sins…Romans 5:1

…I see you as a holy one, a saint…Ephesians 1:1

…your life is complete in Christ…Colossians 2:10

I am significant…I empower you by My Spirit to be my witness…Acts 1:8

…You are a branch of the true vine, infused with life…John 15:1,5

…I designed and crafted you to do good works…Ephesians 2:10

I am totally secure…I have freed you forever from condemnation…Romans 8:1-2

…I have made you a citizen of heaven…Philippians 3:20

…I will complete to perfection the work I began in you…Philippians 1:6

Now what? Say to yourself, I believe! This is who I am, because God has said so for His Word has proved it. God will not renege on His Word. He can’t, it is who He is…”The Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.” John 1:14

Will you trust God to lead you into believing that His Word is truth?

In so doing, you can trust Him to fulfill His promises.

You can walk unencumbered by doubt that kept you from believing that you matter. You are filled with value and precious because you are loved by God!

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What’s Your Prognosis?

One fall, back in 1997, I got a cold that settled in my bronchial tubes. (That seems to be where I am most vulnerable in my body.)  I couldn’t seem to get over it, developing a horrible cough that just wouldn’t abate.  I am not a ‘run to the clinic’ kind of girl and try to use natural remedies that often do work. However, I would seem to get things settled down and then the cough would reappear. My husband kept threatening me with the “You better get to the clinic or I am going to take you myself!” threat. Poor guy, my coughing at night didn’t afford him a very restful night’s sleep!

Well, my teas, vitamin C’s, water, steam…you name it I tried it, could only bring it to rest for a short period of time and then it would return. I seemed to be losing some weight with this and I wasn’t feeling quite right so I finally responded to my guy’s final request to get to the doctor.

The trip to the clinic evolved into chest X-rays and blood work and as I was waiting for the doctor to come in after the testing was completed, something shifted in my spirit and I could tell that he was lingering outside the door (barely open) where I could hear soft discussion over my X-ray before he came into the room where I was seated. I knew something wasn’t quite right. And the doctor revealed to me that there were some suspicious spots in my right lung that would need further examination via a CAT scan. Oh boy, I have to admit that I was becoming concerned with what was in my lung. Well I was put on antibiotics, told I didn’t have pneumonia and sent home to wait for the test the following week and rest, rest, rest to get over whatever it was that I had.

The physicians decided that because of the precarious location of these spots that a biopsy couldn’t be done and the CAT machine that was local wasn’t conclusive enough so I was referred to Duluth to have another try and opinion to determine the next step in this journey.

James 5.15

Oh my, this time in my life God was beginning to teach me of Himself as Jehovah Rophe, our God who heals, Click To Tweet and let me tell you, I was learning a huge amount faith in this area as I began to call upon my Jehovah Rophe! I did the biblical account of James 5, going to my church for public prayer and it was right at Christmas time, yikes, I felt so awkward interrupting our lovely service for MY concern at this special time, but I wanted to be obedient to His Word! I was anointed and prayed for by the congregation, then off to Duluth the following week for my second CT scan.

My daughter lives in Duluth and I was able to stay with her. Of course she insisted on coming with me to the appointment and I agreed so we could have a second pair of ears upon consultation! Their remedy was that I would be cut open from front to back  under my rib cage to remove my two spots that were just too close to my heart to do a safe biopsy. I was to plan to be off work for two months! I haven’t had a surgery since having my youngest son and I wasn’t really welcoming this idea of someone placing their hands in my body! But the doctor knows best (doesn’t he?) and I would go home to prepare for this new adventure. I want you to know that I anticipated going to Duluth to have them find nothing after being prayed over, but God had some other lessons in mind for me.Upon returning to work to let everyone know the plan, my coworker and friend said, “Aren’t you going to get a second opinion?” (Duh, well, ah, never thought of it!)  I am so new to this stuff that I didn’t even think of it, don’t you just trust your doctor? (I am learning!) I was on the phone to Mayo clinic the next day and within eleven days my husband took me on the seven hour journey to Rochester! I have to say that prior to that appointment, my precious prayer group did come to my home and we gathered down in our family room as they too anointed me with oil, laid hands on me and prayed for me. My husband who doesn’t usually partake in that kind of ‘thing’ totally blessed me by also following suit with the others and prayed for me (even audibly!) That was a huge blessing!

I had recently discovered a new kind of praise and worship music from “Down Under” at the Hillsong church. We used a lot of their music during our prayer and praise nights and I rather felt God gave me this song to hold on to and sing on my trip to Mayo:

Mayo Clinic is a very quiet and somber place to be but I had that song on my lips and in my heart  for most of my visit there. Whether walking to and from appointments, gently whistling or singing that song, I was claiming the truth in those lyrics for my situation and God used it to sustain me!

You know friends, I am fully aware that not everyone’s situation turns out the same.  I also know that God works individually in each of our lives and two people can be dealing with the same thing while God chooses to answer differently in each case. In my case, my third CAT scan appeared to reveal no cancer. I was praising Him all the way home and beyond! Someone else’s story is quite the opposite as they get ready to undergo the process of some sort of treatment to try to deter or get rid of the invasive disease. Would I be praising God all the way home if I had received the sad news that I did have cancer? Of course I want to say absolutely but honestly, probably not!

There is power in praise, and for one thing it raises our level of faith and helps us keep from being overwhelmed by our outcome. Click To Tweet God is in control!  And for whatever reason and because He sees the big picture that I am unable to see, He lovingly allows things to go certain ways because the outcome will teach us to walk closer to Him and always bring Him glory! Provided we posture ourselves to a position of surrender.

1Thes5.16-18

Please friend, if you are in a place of uncertainty, fix your gaze on Your maker, He has you in the palm of His hand.  Look to Him and praise His name for you can trust your life and all you love to His care!

From Hebrews 11:1 the Message paraphrase:

The fundamental fact of existence is that this trust in God, this faith, is the firm foundation under everything that makes life worth living. It’s our handle on what we can’t see.

If you are in a tough situation right now, physically, emotionally or relationally,

I would love to pray with you and for you!  It’s what the faith-filled body of Christ does for each other!

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The God of All Comfort…

Storms Brewing
Storm’s A Brewing

 

Life is sure difficult today and maybe you agree. God reminds us that we are to bring encouragement to those who are having hard days. Whether it is depression, loss/grief, illness or how about uncertainty for the future, your experiences in life are partially intended to bring comfort to those in need.

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These verses from 2 Corinthians 1:3-4 (ESV) spell it out for us:

2 Cor 1.3-4

As God brings hurting people through my pathway, I am burdened to pray for them and hopefully bring words of comfort to their seemingly hopeless situations.  Oh to be the hands and feet of Jesus!Line Break

How about you?  Are you feeling overwhelmed with life today?  Only God can make a way where there seems to be no way… If I can pray for you, please let me know!  Don’t let the heaviness of your situation weigh you down, our burdens are meant to be shared. Prayer is available here!

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